Chapter 76
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
PHOENIX
When I open my eyes, pitch-black darkness welcomes me.
My heart flutters in my chest, and my throat is so dry I can’t even swallow. I grab my throat and cough, trying to ease the discomfort. After blinking a few times, I realize I can’t see a single thing.
My lungs seize as panic grips me. Once again, I’m back in that room where time and the world don’t exist, with the presence of Lorca. A light chuckle echoes at the back of my mind.
How can that be? I passed the second trial.
I flex my hands and move my feet. Okay. All my limbs are intact. I’m alive. I can move. I try to sit down. The moment I pull myself up into a seated position, a splitting headache threatens to tear my mind apart.
“Fuck,” I curse, rubbing my right temple where it hurts the most. The curse comes out more like a croak because my throat is dry as a Wetran desert. I cough again.
The longer I sit there in the darkness, the more my eyes adjust to it. Finally, I start making out the shapes of stone walls around me. At least I know I’m not in a spirit world. I’m inside of a…cave of some sort.
“What the fuck,” I breathe.
I’m so confused. The last thing I remember was going to bed in my bedroom at Vera’s studio. How did I get here? And where for the love of the gods am I?
Slowly, I get on my feet. I almost lose my balance because my head spins. I feel as if I have been—
Drugged.
Nothing makes sense. We had dinner at Vera’s place with her crew. All of them ate the same food and drank the same drinks as I—
Oh dear gods. What if Daegel found a way to harm Vera and this is some sort of twisted torture chamber I’m stuck in?
I’m too lightheaded. I lean my back against one of the stone walls, breathing heavily. It’s damp here, and the air is musty. Shit, shit, shit. I need to find my way out of here. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Are you here? I ask, hoping the trickster god didn’t leave me just yet. I can’t feel their presence.
Yes, Phoenix Wildarrow. Always.
Well, that’s definitely not a comforting thought. But that’s a problem for another time.
Do you know where I am?
I do, they purr. I know everything.
Tell me, I say.
Everything? The trickster god chuckles. The whole eternity might not be enough for a conversation like that.
I roll my eyes. Tell me where I am. Give me the location.
You know where you are, Phoenix Wildarrow.
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose.
I guess I can’t expect much direct help from a trickster god.
With a sigh, I peel my eyes open and look around the cave again.
The walls, as far as I can see in the dark, are bare except for moss growing in patches in some places.
I take a step forward. There’s sand under my feet, or dry dirt.
A rock here and there. Some rocks are bigger than others.
I figure that out five steps in when I stumble over one and fall onto all fours.
“You’re doing phenomenal,” I murmur to myself. “Absolutely outstanding. Kazh would be proud.”
I can’t force myself back onto my feet.
Fine, if I can’t walk, I’ll crawl.
I grope around the sand, trying to navigate the way. I find a long, thick stick a few inches away from where I am. And then another. And even more of them. Some are smaller than others, and then some are connected…As I trace the objects in the sand, I realize these are bones I’m touching.
With a yelp, I fall backwards and crawl away from the pile of bones. My back hits the rock wall and I lean against it, breathing heavily. Panic swirls to the surface. I can’t let it consume me. Not right now.
I close my eyes. Take a deep breath in through my nose. Slowly exhale through my mouth.
I don’t think.
I don’t feel.
I simply am.
When I open my eyes again, I’m in control.
Slowly, I pull myself back up on my feet.
I need to find a way out of this cave. I might not have much time.
With my hands, I trace the lines of the walls and explore the cave.
It dawns on me that I’m not wearing my gloves, yet I’m dressed in my leathers. That’s weird.
I don’t know how long I walk around the cave, but I’m pretty sure I’m walking in circles. There is no entrance or a corridor leading somewhere else. I’m stuck in a stone tomb, gods know where.
There must be an exit here. Someone managed to drop me in here, so there has to be a way out. I just need to find it.
Lorca chuckles in my mind again.
What is the point of having you with me if you’re useless?
A gentle claw caresses my mind. How bold of you to talk to the gods this way, Phoenix Wildarrow.
I don’t miss the subtle threat. It takes me a couple of minutes to get my heartbeat under control once again.
You know, it’s been a long, long time since I’ve made a bargain with anyone, they purr. I almost forgot how exciting it is. Being connected to the mortal. Getting to feel what they feel.
I frown. What, no mortals bargain with the spirits of the gods?
Oh, no. They do, Lorca says. They do it all the time—come to us, asking for favors, for blessings, for help. But they are rarely willing to offer anything in return. They don’t want to pay the price.
Yeah. I can understand why.
You, however. You’re a mortal who knows the way nature works. That there is always a price.
I ignore the trickster for now. It’s distracting, and I don’t have time for philosophical musings. Slowly, I continue my journey around this cave.
I’m in luck, because a few feet away, I touch a rock inside the wall that slips from its place. It tumbles down to my feet. A ray of light pushes through the hole.
I grab for other rocks around the little hole.
All of them are unsteady in the wall and I can pull each of them out.
There’s a hole inside the wall, covered in moss and rocks.
I waste no time and dig in, pushing the moss and rocks away to widen the hole.
My fingers bleed, but I don’t care. When the fresh air caresses my cheeks, I almost cry out from joy.
When the hole is wide enough for me to fit through it, I push myself up and slide inside. It’s tight and I can’t crawl comfortably. But I manage to squeeze my way out of the damn cave. At the end of it, I see the light of the day and lush greenery.
Headfirst, I wiggle out of the damn hole and fall onto cushiony dirt. Quickly, I rise and look around. The sun is not high in the sky—it must be only midmorning. Lush forest surrounds me, but I hear voices coming from all around me. I must be close to a busy neighborhood in Jaakii.
There’s a forest next to Daegel’s estate. What if he hid me there?
deeper in or out of the forest, I don’t know. I guess I’m about to find out. I stride forward and make my way through the bushes and trees. Voices are getting louder, so I must be going the right direction.
After a couple of feet, the forest abruptly ends and I walk into an empty clearing. I blink rapidly, confused. Loud cheers erupt from all sides.
The clearing is in the shape of a circle. In the middle, there is a pile of weapons. My bow sits on the very top of the pile.
A tall stone wall surrounds the forest that stretches on all sides of the round clearing. I whirl around, trying to understand where the fuck I am. A few thousand, if not more, pairs of eyes are gawking at me from the top of the tall wall. The echo from the their cheers is deafening.
Finally, it hits me.
This is the Trial of Strength.
I look around the forest, but nobody else is here. It’s just me for now. My feet move towards the weapon pile. I need my bow. Once it’s in my hand, and the quiver with arrows rests on my shoulder, I’m at ease. In the pile, I recognize Daegel’s two long blades.
My head still pounds, and my throat is itchy. There is no food or water anywhere I can see. From the looks of it, and the excitement of the crowd, it seems that I’m the first one to emerge from the forest. The others are still trying to figure their way out.
The first thing you want to do is find a way to put yourself in a position that allows you to use your skills to your best advantage, rather than blindly going into a fight. Kazh’s words ring in my mind.
I know exactly what I need to do.
I must be clever instead of ruthless.
At least for now.
So, I turn around and run back into the forest, leaving the cheering crowd behind.